A 59-year-old Sunnyvale woman who was trying to fly home from a Niagara Falls vacation is now in ICE custody in Louisiana, while her family presses for answers about how she was detained and transported across the country. Her daughter says the ordeal has included shackling, poor conditions and days without contact.
Alevtina Soboleva was approached by plainclothes officers on July 20 at Buffalo Niagara International Airport as she prepared to return to the Bay Area, according to NBC Bay Area. The officers reportedly described the encounter as a document check and did not identify themselves as ICE agents, according to her daughter, Daria Soboleva; ICE records later showed that Alevtina was in custody at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.
Soboleva moved to the United States from Russia in October 2021 to help her daughter settle into a new job at Sunnyvale-based Cerebras Systems. The family decided returning to Russia was unsafe after the war in Ukraine began, and Soboleva filed an asylum application in April 2022 that remains pending; her daughter says she has no criminal record.
Daria Soboleva said her mother was moved through several detention facilities and could not be reached for four days. During a phone call, Alevtina described being handcuffed and chained inside a transport cage with poor air circulation, being denied fresh air and water, and being refused bathroom access; after she urinated on herself, she also suffered panic attacks, the report said.
After arriving in Basile, Soboleva reportedly complained of chills and asked for warm clothing. A fellow detainee gave her fever medication and a warm hat, but authorities at the facility took both items away, according to the family; ICE had not immediately responded to NBC Bay Area's request for comment.
Family Seeks Faster Immigration Review
The Soboleva family has engaged an attorney and contacted the office of Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Santa Clara, to expedite the case and bring Alevtina home. Daria said she can now speak with her mother, but remains worried because Alevtina already suffers from vertigo.
Sunnyvale Has Taken A Local Stand On ICE Enforcement
The detention comes months after the Sunnyvale City Council adopted a policy barring the use of city-owned or city-controlled property for civil immigration enforcement. The City of Sunnyvale policy does not interfere with criminal investigations, lawful warrants or federal authority, meaning it would not govern a detention at an airport in New York or a federal facility in Louisiana; Sunnyvale's ICE-free policy was approved as the city also developed immigration resources for residents and businesses.
For now, Soboleva remains in federal immigration custody while her pending asylum case moves forward. Her family's immediate goal is straightforward: get her back to Sunnyvale and obtain a clearer explanation of what prompted the airport detention in the first place.
